September 7, 2026
Knowing something is not the same as explaining it
I have had moments during computer training when I was explaining something that seemed simple to me, but the person in front of me was clearly lost. I remember looking at the screen, then at the learner, and realizing that repeating the same explanation would probably change nothing. I had to find another way to say it.
This happens quite often with Excel. I can give the correct name of a function, explain what it does, and demonstrate the formula step by step. Technically, everything I said may be correct. But if the learner cannot do the same task alone afterward, I have to question whether I really communicated it well.
Teaching in Brazzaville has made me pay more attention to that difference. Sometimes I stop using technical vocabulary and start with a situation the person already understands. Other times, I move to the learner’s computer and let them try it themselves. I have seen a simple example solve in two minutes what a long explanation could not solve in ten.
The language depends on the person
Doctrine and Covenants 1:24 speaks about God communicating with people according to their language so they can understand. The part that stayed with me was the idea of being understood. I see a practical connection with the way I communicate in my own work.
When I train someone who is opening Excel or Photoshop for the first time, I cannot speak as if I were talking to another trainer. The beginner does not need every technical term I know. In fact, giving too much information at once can make a simple task feel more complicated.
I experience this from the other side too. French is my first language, but I study Communication in English. Sometimes the idea is already clear in my mind, yet I hesitate when I try to express it naturally in English. I write a sentence, read it again, and realize that it sounds more like translated French than something I would actually say.
That experience has made me a little more patient when someone does not understand me immediately.
Did my message actually arrive?
When I prepare a training session now, I still think about what I want to teach, but I also try to think about what the learner will receive. Those are not always the same thing.
Whether I am teaching in a classroom, recording a tutorial, writing an email, or preparing something for my website, another person is on the other side of the message. If that person cannot understand what I meant, having the correct information was not enough.
It is the one that makes the person look back at the screen and say, “Okay, now I understand.”
Sometimes the best explanation is not the most technical one.
